Ghostly Encounter

Chapter 5

In that instant, seeing an opportunity, I leaped to the bottom right corner of the painting, cut off the section containing the woman, folded it twice, and wrapped it with over a hundred layers of tape.

From the moment I started cutting and layering the painting to wrapping it with tape, it was all incredibly fast and precise, like a flash of lightning. I realized then how astonishing a person's potential could be when forced to be unleashed; even the fat man standing next to me was speechless with disbelief.

The woman in the painting must have always been a scourge to those who have no resistance, but who would have thought that she would encounter me today? My movements were faster than a ghost, and before she could react, she was already wrapped up tightly with tape.

I gripped the tightly wrapped canvas, feeling a tremendous force struggling to break free, almost lifting me off the ground. I quickly yelled, "Hey fatso, where's the lighter? Hurry up and burn it! Are you really going to let me die like this?!"

The fat man then snapped out of his daze, hurriedly pulled out a lighter to light it, but a foul stench filled the air. The package of duct tape bounced a few times on the ground before turning to ashes.

I looked up at the painting hanging on the wall. Our figures had disappeared, and the scene depicted in the painting slowly faded, eventually turning into a blank wall that emitted a foul odor and the grayish-white color of human flesh. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a canvas made of many pieces of human skin sewn together with needle and thread. I couldn't help but feel a chill and quickly jumped away from the wall.

I think this wicked woman's sorcery has been broken. If this is the woman who was impaled by the coffin nails, I originally wanted to save her, but now I have no goodwill towards her at all. I can't help but hate my own womanly compassion, which almost caused the fat man to perish here as well.

The surroundings quieted down, and Jin Laopian slowly walked over, looking at me with utter admiration: "Brother, you are truly brave! My courage and skills are half as good as yours. I would gladly die for you. I think your skills are almost on par with that tomb raiding master, Master Qin! If it weren't for that kick you gave me just now, I'm afraid I would be dead here today! Thank you, brother!"

I showed no sign of smugness and said to Jin Laopian and Sen Ge, “Tonight’s situation was extremely dangerous. I did not expect that there were such powerful sorcery in the world. I was too careless and came here to search without any preparation. I almost died here. Just now, I was just gambling with my life. I was very lucky. If I had missed, we would all have died.”

Brother Sen examined A-Zheng and Da-Gang's injuries with a gloomy face, ignoring me for a moment.

I checked on Fatty and saw he was alright, not seriously injured. So I took the opportunity to chat with that old man Jin again: "You keep mentioning this Master Qin. Who is he? Do you even know anything about that black flame lamp? I have a feeling that lamp is an ominous thing, and it might harm everyone!"

Jin Laopian grinned: "Speaking of Master Qin, we could talk about him for days and nights. In his youth, he was a force to be reckoned with, capable of taking on any challenge. His composure and cunning made him a true genius in tomb raiding! He's been in America for almost ten years now, and his child is already this tall! Alas, what a pity!" Jin Laopian gestured with his hand to indicate the height of a child, shaking his head in regret.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard that, and I couldn't help but ask curiously, "I remember you said that he also had an old book that was similar to mine. Is that true? I wonder if there's ever a chance to meet him and exchange ideas. You still haven't told me about the Black Flame Lamp, so stop keeping me in suspense!"

Jin Laopian continued, "I don't know much about this Black Flame Lamp. When I was in America, Master Sen found me and showed me a family heirloom notebook. It had these lines: 'Partridge and pangolin, the seal of the tomb raider, a ghost in the dark wall of the tomb; digging through the mountains and roaming the four seas, the tomb raider's seal, the ghost possessing you at dawn.' I laughed when I saw it because Master Qin often recited something similar, talking about the tomb raider's seal, the tomb raider's talisman, the ghost possessing you at dawn; the crouching coffin, the cold grave, digging through mountains and ridges, going around it—it's all about the same thing. They're the slang and taboos of the four major tomb raiding schools. By the way, the owner of that notebook was also surnamed Chen; I wonder what his relationship was with Master Sen. As for this Black Flame Lamp—"

Just as he was about to explain things to me in detail, Brother Sen walked over, glared at him, and Jin Laopian quickly shut his mouth.

Sen walked over to Shanzi, who was pinned to the ground by spikes, and covered Shanzi's wide-open eyes with a gloomy hand. He turned to me and said, "Sigh, this trip was really a loss. Dagang is finished too. Azheng's injury can still be cured. It's all because of this Black Flame Lamp. What the hell is going on? If you piss me off, I'll take you all down with me!"

I was furious. Although Brother Sen had just saved my life, his words were still too harsh. Apart from Ah Zheng, this guy was just a lone commander, yet he was so arrogant. A murderous thought flashed through my mind, and I had other ideas.

I threw the knife back to Brother Sen to avoid arousing his suspicion. After all, the two of them still had guns, and it wasn't the right time to turn against each other.

I walked over to Da Gang, who was lying on the ground, and was horrified. He looked very familiar because his legs had been severed from the knees down by black claws that had emerged from the ground. The two bloodied human feet were covered with shoes, very similar to the strange human feet that Fatty and I had seen in the tomb. In the darkness, I seemed to see a dent in the back of Da Gang's head, and a pistol lying flat beside him. So, taking advantage of the flickering of my flashlight, I quietly slipped the pistol into my pocket.

I didn't have a good impression of this towering man, so I turned to look at Ah Zheng's injuries. Fortunately, Ah Zheng must have reacted quickly enough to avoid being crushed by those black claws. He was standing on one leg with a slight limp, and there was no bleeding. I glanced at Ah Zheng's pained face, walked back to Brother Sen's side, and whispered, "Brother Sen, Ah Zheng is in trouble. Did you notice?"

Chapter Thirteen: Mystery in the Hair

Brother Sen looked at me with surprise, not quite understanding what I was saying.

Seeing that he didn't understand, I pulled him away a little and said, "Da Gang's death was very suspicious. His legs being crushed shouldn't have killed him so quickly. Did you notice that there was a dent on the back of Da Gang's head, like something hit him? That's the fatal wound. But just now, only A Zheng and you were with him. As for you, you wouldn't do that, which is why I said A Zheng is suspicious."

Brother Sen frowned and said in a low voice, "It's hard to say. What if Da Gang bumped into something when he fell? A-Zheng and I have known each other for a long time. Think again, is there anything else A-Zheng has done wrong?"

I knew it would be difficult to prove this without any evidence, so I continued my analysis: "Of course I have evidence. Look at Zheng's eyes, don't you think he's too calm? And there's definitely something hidden in his hair. I remember you were all wearing helmets."

Sen glanced at A-Zheng, who stood there calmly and silently. After a life-or-death struggle, he was indeed very calm. He stared intently at A-Zheng's hair and saw something vaguely crouching there. When Sen shone his flashlight on it, it shrank back. Sen waved for me to come over, and we flanked A-Zheng on either side. Sen said coldly, "A-Zheng, are you hiding something from me? Or is there something wrong with your body? We've been brothers for years, and I can't let you die like this."

A flicker of panic crossed Ah Zheng's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "Boss, I'm fine, I, I... Ah! ————!" Before he could finish speaking, he let out a scream, dropped his gun, and turned to run away.

Sen gritted his teeth, drew his pistol and was about to aim when I quickly stopped him and said, "Don't rush, Sen. I think A-Zheng has just been kidnapped. There's something else crouching in his hair. Don't shoot yet. We don't have many people left. If we suffer any more losses, we might not be able to escape."

Seeing that Brother Sen was a little skeptical, I had no choice but to say, "I learned this from a book. The Five Ding Disfigurement Technique is too vicious and cruel. Strange phenomena will occur in the burial ground. Fatty and I previously discovered a bunch of spiders entangled together. Ah Zheng's hair vaguely revealed two claw-like things, which were hairy and looked just like spider legs."

Now only the four of us—me, Fatty, Old Man Jin, and Brother Sen—are left. The balance of power has shifted significantly. Looking at the unpredictable changes on Brother Sen's face, I think he understands this too and is probably making a decision in his mind.

I remembered that the pistol I had secretly taken from Da Gang was still hidden in my pocket, so I quietly aimed it at Brother Sen, just in case.

Within two minutes, Brother Sen had figured things out and slowly said, "Feng Yixi, Jin Laopian, and this fat brother, today's events were truly unexpected. I didn't expect it to turn out this way either. Now we're all in the same boat. Once we're safely out of here, I'll tell you everything about the Black Flame Lamp. As for what kind of person I, Chen Jiansen, am, there's no need for further explanation. I've offended you in the past, so please forgive me." After saying this, he cupped his hands in greeting and took out the dagger, handing it to me.

I gestured for Fatty to pick up a gun from the ground and hold it in my hand. Although I knew Fatty had absolutely no idea how to fire a gun, it was better than nothing, and it might come in handy in a pinch. Holding the dagger, I said to Chen Jiansen, "Brother Sen, we're in the underground of a busy city. We've been running around all night, and we still have no idea what the situation is up there. I hope we can work together to find a way out. As for what to do after we get out, we'll talk about that later. If you can't take that Black Flame Lamp with you, please don't be too stubborn, lest you endanger everyone's lives. You saved my life just now, and I've remembered that. I, Feng Yixi, am a man of principle; I would never do anything like backstabbing someone."

Brother Sen nodded, took out a few magazines from his backpack and handed them to Fatty. The four of them had reached a temporary reconciliation.

I said to Brother Sen, "There are three things that need to be dealt with now. First, the bodies of these three dead men, your henchman, Da Gang, and Shan Zi. I think we need to clean them up to prevent them from turning into evil spirits. Second, Jin Laopian, where did you come in from? Can we go back the way we came in? We need to make a plan quickly. Third, Ah Zheng who escaped. I always feel that he can still be saved. Should we go find him?"

Sen glanced at his watch and said indifferently, "Let's not worry about A-Zheng's matter. Let's leave it to fate. It's almost four o'clock now. We need to get out before dawn, otherwise we'll be arrested by the police as soon as we show our faces in broad daylight. Brother Feng, you decide what to do. I'll listen to you and have no objections."

I gripped my dagger and walked to where the first henchman had died, only to find that his body was gone. I quickly shone my flashlight to check on the other two bodies, and to my utter astonishment, Da Gang and Shan Zi's bodies had also vanished without a trace! In the tense atmosphere just now, no one paid attention to these unfortunate souls who were already dead. How could we have known that corpses could grow legs and simply disappear like that?

Could there be others in this ghostly underground palace besides us? I thought of the dented head wound on the back of Da Gang's head when he died, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

The tomb was empty, without any burial objects. It wasn't very spacious, nor was it as complex as a maze of doors and gates. My only concern was the walls. Although they were all made of identical blue bricks, I was afraid that many of them were hidden doors that could be moved. This would be quite troublesome. There were only four of us, and if we split up, we could easily get separated. Besides, Ah Zheng, who ran away, might be hiding behind one of those hidden doors.

I told Fatty and the others what I was thinking, and then asked Jin Laopian, "How did you get in? Stop hiding it, just tell us, this isn't a place to stay."

Brother Sen replied, "The way we came in is probably useless now, because it'll be a dead end after daybreak, and we can't go any further."

I was puzzled: "What, what do you mean? I've only ever heard the saying 'Don't look back when it's dark, or you'll find no one behind you.' I really don't understand how a perfectly clear road could turn into a dead end in broad daylight?"

Jin Laopian said with a wry smile, "Master Feng, listen to me. This black flame lamp is a legendary ancient artifact, said to be very mysterious and valuable. There's an underwater tomb hidden at the bottom of the Haihe River. Last night, after dark, a few of us chartered a boat and moored it on the bank of the Haihe River, pretending that the boat was broken and we were repairing it. In reality, we all dived down to the bottom of the river, found the entrance to this underwater tomb, and sneaked in without anyone noticing. We worked all night but didn't find anything, and two of our men died in the water. It was so bloody! Just thinking about it makes my legs cramp. It was too horrible!"

Jin Laopian glanced at Sen Ge, whose face was gloomy, and continued, "We were on our way back when several crouching coffins appeared in the passageway of the underwater tomb. This caused us a lot of trouble. We were like we were trapped in a maze, unable to find our way out. Fortunately, I found a passageway in an underground river and crawled and tumbled in along the waterway. I was covered in mud and water, but I found nothing but a few old jade pieces. Later, I heard you two talking and became anxious but couldn't find a way out. Luckily, this fat man opened the secret door, and that's how we finally reunited."

Brother Sen chimed in, "The story of the Black Flame Lamp is a long one. I learned about this from a relative who gave me his experience notes on going down into the cellar. A few years ago, it appeared in a mountain in Nanyang. My relative saw it. Later, he traced it back to Tianjin, but then it disappeared without a trace. Tonight was an accident. I didn't expect to encounter the Black Flame Lamp. You and Fatty don't have diving equipment. Even if we're lucky, by the time we get to the underwater tomb, I'm afraid the bodies of those two dead guys will have already surfaced. In our line of work, not many loyal and courageous people will still be waiting for us. The waiting boat has definitely already left. If we surface in broad daylight, it's a sure way to die."

At that moment, I realized that if we wanted to get out, we would probably have to try to find the tunnel that Fatty and I had come down through. I couldn't help but glance at Fatty, and to my surprise, he was still very calm. I wondered what was wrong with Fatty. Ever since we met Brother Sen and his gang, Fatty had often been silent. This was not like his usual self.

At that moment, I didn't think too much about it. Besides, I never had the habit of doubting my buddies. So I briefly explained the path we took down to Sen and Jin Laopian, and finally told them, "A place like this, where dragons slumber, becomes a four-fold deadly place after a master uses the Five Ding Disfigurement Technique. It's a place where human energy can't enter, yin energy can't leave, life energy can't gather, malevolent energy can't leave, ghostly energy condenses, and cold energy breeds. It's hard to say what kind of monsters this special feng shui pattern can cultivate. For example, I suspect that hairy spider is some kind of variant. And what's the purpose of all these skinned corpses? Will the woman on the canvas I burned let us leave safely? All of these are unknowns."

Jin Laopian sighed and said, "Three years to find the dragon, ten years to pinpoint the acupoint, and that's in the desolate wilderness. In the city, it would probably take at least thirty years to accurately pinpoint the acupoint. Who exactly is the master of this dragon's sleeping place? I, Jin Laopian, really want to broaden my horizons."

For a moment, the four of us fell silent. Fatty and I groped our way to the hole we had fallen into. As we walked through the brick-paved tomb, we wondered who the owner of this tomb might be.

The more I walked, the more suspicious I became of Fatty. Given our friendship, he would always consult me about anything, especially since we've always had opportunities to talk alone. But he always remained silent. Back in college, Fatty had professionally trained in amateur boxing, and he wasn't this fat then. With his skills, he could go through several matches without even breaking a sweat, winning more than he lost, and his mouth never stopped chattering. How come after all these years, his skills have declined, and even his temper has changed?

I casually shone my flashlight on the fat man's head, and I was immediately startled. Oh my god!

There was something hidden in the fat man's hair?

I was a little stunned. Remembering how Ah Zheng ran away yelling after being exposed, I didn't dare to disturb Fatty. I suppressed my weak legs, walked closer to Brother Sen, and gave him a wink, indicating that I needed to talk to him privately.

Brother Sen was an exceptionally intelligent man. Without changing his expression, he didn't even glance at Fatty and Old Man Jin. He then opened the gun with a clatter and shouted, "Wait! Take a break for a moment. No one is allowed to move!" Then he casually walked a few steps away from me, one in front of the other.

I leaned closer to Brother Sen and told him that there was something strange in Fatty's hair, probably the same thing as what was in Ah Zheng's hair. We must not alert him and scare Fatty away, otherwise we would be doomed in this dangerous place and there would be no way to save him.

Brother Sen frowned and thought for a moment, then pulled me back, unconsciously moved closer to Fatty, took out a cigarette and handed it to him, inviting me to come over and have a smoke to catch my breath. Old Jin, who was unaware of the situation, interjected, "Brother Sen, Brother Feng, the air here is already very polluted, and I can hardly breathe. You shouldn't smoke. You know I've been suppressing my craving for a long time."

Brother Sen glared at him: "You old bastard, shut your mouth! This place is connected to the Haihe River, and the river water will keep blowing in the wind. Don't you dare ruin my fun! Stand over there!"

I gave Jin Laopian a wink, signaling him to step aside; we had something to do.

As Fatty bent down to light his cigarette, Brother Sen's hand silently slapped him, perhaps a little afraid of something hidden in his hair. He slapped very close to Fatty's neck, knocking him unconscious instantly!

Chapter Fourteen: Coffin Liquid Shower

I glared at Sen and said, "You'd better be gentle! If you hurt him, I'll never forgive you!"

Despite my words, I knew in my heart that my palm strike just now was truly brilliant. The fat man was already big, and if I hadn't knocked him out with one careless move, I might have completely ruined him. I asked myself if I could even grasp the right balance.

Without further ado, I took out my dagger, crouched down, and slowly approached the fat man. Actually, I had no idea what to do. I've always had an innate fear of furry, soft little animals, but at this moment, for my good friend's life, I couldn't care less about that.

Gently parting the fat man's hair, I was shocked to find a strange spider, about the size of my palm, with four long, hairy legs tightly gripping the fat man's scalp. In the middle of the long legs was an oval-shaped, flat, black fleshy growth with no facial features, only two eyes. Its mouth was probably also biting the fat man's scalp, and its eyes seemed half-asleep, with drooping eyelids, unaware that it was being stared at by me and Brother Sen.

My scalp tingled at the sight. When did this fatso get such a terrifying thing on his scalp without making a sound? If he just takes it out like this, we'll be committing a terrible sin!

I beckoned Brother Sen to come over and discuss what to do. Although Brother Sen was not afraid of real battles, he was terrified of this kind of mysterious thing. His face had turned pale, and he hurriedly found a helmet and put it tightly on his head.

Jin Laopian also saw the strange spider in the fat man's hair, and was equally frightened, turning pale and extremely uncomfortable.

I looked at Brother Sen and saw that he shrugged his shoulders without any solution. I couldn't help but feel anxious. What should I do? I would never agree to leave Fatty here. But how could I kill that spider without hurting Fatty?

I was anxious for a moment, knowing it wouldn't help. So I racked my brains trying to figure out if the book "The Secret Techniques of Tianyuan Mountain and Water" mentioned this situation. When Brother Sen saw me lost in thought, he came over and said, "Brother Feng, you have to hurry. It's almost dawn. My palm strike can only hold him off for a while. If we haven't resolved this by the time he wakes up, I'm afraid..."

Hearing what Brother Sen said, a brilliant idea flashed into my mind. Spiders are generally afraid of light. If we could make the spider pause for a few seconds, we could find a way to shovel it off Fatty's scalp. Besides, this spider is probably already connected with Fatty's mind. In other words, if Fatty doesn't wake up for the time being, the spider won't cause trouble for the time being. Yes, that's what I'll do!

But this was a matter of life and death, and I dared not delay any longer. I gritted my teeth, pulled out my dagger, and told Jin Laopian and Sen Ge to hold down Fatty's arms on either side. I instructed them to shine a strong flashlight on the spider. Once everything was ready, I gently parted Fatty's hair, slid the blade of the dagger into his scalp, and pressed it against the middle of the black tumor. With a slight push, there was a snap, and the spider's eyes opened instantly!

Almost simultaneously, Brother Sen and Old Man Jin turned their high-intensity flashlights around, shining them directly into the spider's eyes. Suddenly exposed to the bright light, the spider retracted its four hairy legs, trying to burrow into the fat man's scalp. But I wasn't about to let it get in. I was waiting for its hairy legs to retract, and in an instant, I exerted force with my wrist and the blade, prying the spider out. With a thud, it fell onto the blue brick ground. Brother Sen fired a burst of bullets, instantly killing the thing.

The three of us immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but I immediately wondered why Ah Zheng and Fatty were possessed by spiders while the rest of us were unharmed. However, there was no time to think about that now. I helped up Fatty, who was still half-conscious, and without even wiping the blood flowing down his forehead, I hurriedly walked towards the hole from which we had fallen.

The tomb chamber wasn't very big, and the four of us found the entrance in no time. Fatty had also regained consciousness. Apart from looking listless, he seemed to be alright. I kept a close eye on him, worried that he might fall victim to something else.

Brother Sen kept looking around at the hole, then took out a long, thin iron chain from his bag. One end of the chain had a retractable steel claw. With a flashlight in his mouth, he tried to throw it up through the dark hole. This was a skill-intensive task, and I couldn't help him at all. But then I saw Old Jin approach me and put something in my hand. I squeezed it; it was hard, like a solid wooden plaque. A little confused, I looked at Old Jin and asked what was going on.

Jin Laopian smiled mysteriously and whispered, "Master Feng, you are very skilled and have even saved my life. I noticed that the necklace you are wearing is no ordinary item; it looks very much like a Buddhist rosary from Southeast Asia. This fat man has nothing, so I took the liberty of giving you a protective charm. Perhaps it can keep those spiders from bothering him. Fortunately, I have prepared quite a few, and I still have some on my person, so Master Feng doesn't need to worry."

I quickly looked at the thing Jin Laopian had shoved into my hand. It was a wooden plaque, polished to a glossy shine, and somewhat resembled jade. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was inlaid with many small jade pieces. The whole thing was about half the size of a cigarette box, and it looked radiant. It was carved with dragons and tigers, but I didn't recognize what it was.

Seeing my suspicious look, Jin Laopian quickly explained, "This is the real deal, the famous Mountain-Piercing Armor!"

"The Mountain-Piercing Armor? What's that?" I still didn't understand, but while asking Jin Laopian, I took off the Buddhist beads hanging around my neck and put them on Fatty's wrist. I noticed the armor had a bracelet on it, presumably worn on the wrist, so I copied it and put it on my own wrist. I thought that even if it didn't have the power to ward off evil, I couldn't let Fatty fall for it again, so I'd try it on first. He asked somewhat suspiciously, "How do you know so much about these things? Are you just trying to fool me?"

Old Jin looked embarrassed but smiled and said, "I heard all this when I was in Tennessee, USA, having dinner with Mr. Qin and his wife. Mrs. Qin's maternal grandfather was an unparalleled genius in his early years, skilled in both mountain-climbing techniques and tomb-raiding talismans. He was very capable, but unfortunately he has been gone for a long time. This mountain-climbing armor is... is... is the ancestral treasure that Mrs. Qin gave me. It is said to be an amulet worn by ancient mountain-climbers in tombs to ward off evil. I brought it back to China this time. After hearing from Brother Sen that you obtained that strange book, I was thinking about when I could make a copy to take back to the United States and compare it with the one that Mr. Qin has. It would be a good thing, wouldn't it? I believe that Mr. Qin will definitely give you a copy of his book. I can guarantee that!"

Jin Laopian spoke with such conviction that I couldn't help but believe him. I immediately had the idea of meeting this legendary Master Qin. Just as I was about to ask Jin Laopian to introduce me, I heard a loud bang from Brother Sen's side. The force was quite strong. The steel claws probably accidentally nailed into the mahogany coffin. I was startled and cried out, "Oh no!"

There was no time to persuade Brother Sen not to pull too hard, so I had to push Jin Laopian aside to avoid it. I remembered that the mahogany coffin was severely rotten, and if I pulled it with such force, wouldn't it fall apart? Just thinking about the stinking coffin liquid inside made me want to vomit. I dared not pour that stuff over my head, or I would be in agony.

Sure enough, I knew this guy was incredibly strong. I wonder what he used to do? With a sudden jerk of his wrist, the lid of the mahogany coffin was pulled off with a whoosh, and a bunch of tangled, rotting corpses, foul-smelling coffin liquid, and some mud were poured over him through the opening!

Brother Sen never expected such a big commotion. He forgot to dodge and was immediately drenched in the rotting flesh and black coffin liquid. He couldn't hold back any longer and ran to a corner, squatted down and vomited. Fatty was also in a bad way. Although he wasn't standing that close, he was still splashed with a lot of filth. He was dizzy and sat down on the ground, vomiting up all the food and drink we had eaten and drunk before we went down into the cave!

I could only watch Jin Yong's old films, smiling bitterly and speechless.

After a while, I guessed that they must have even come up with bile before they stopped vomiting. Fatty was okay, he didn't need to change his clothes much, but Brother Sen was in trouble. His whole body smelled bad, and he was lying on the ground, only able to breathe.

I chuckled to myself. This arrogant guy's finally gotten what he deserved! Back in Beijing, when he was sending people all over the world to cause me trouble, if he had just spoken to me nicely like Jin Yong did, offering the second half in exchange for the first, wouldn't that have been great? Why did he have to make me run to Tianjin like a refugee, causing all this trouble?

After they calmed down, I was about to go over and say a few sarcastic remarks, especially to Fatty, who now had some juicy material to mock. But as soon as I reached the bottom of the cave, there was a loud thud, and the large mahogany coffin came crashing down right on the back of my head. It was probably because Brother Sen used too much force that the rotten coffin was pulled down, and the remaining bodily fluids were almost all over me. These were the essence of many years of sediment, and the smell was so strong that it almost made me faint. My stomach was churning, and I ran to Fatty's side in a disheveled state and vomited violently.

Only Jin Laopian was completely unharmed. He looked at us with a grin, shone his flashlight up, and said happily, "Uncle Feng, you are truly a lucky man! This huge coffin is practically a natural ladder! Now we can get out without any effort. Hehe, I was worried that my health wasn't good enough and I wouldn't be able to climb up this hole. Now I can rest assured!"

I secretly cursed you, you old bastard! Don't be too happy yet, there are still plenty of hairy black spiders waiting for you up there!

Chapter Fifteen: Right or Wrong

After all this commotion, it's almost dawn, and this night should finally come to an end. I estimate that if nothing unexpected happens with that long, deep tunnel, we can get back to the cabin before seven o'clock. Thinking of the portrait of the woman still nailed with six coffin nails in the wardrobe, my heart skipped a beat. It seems there are still some things left undone on this trip.

The woman in that demonic painting is Aunt Mei, who rented the house to me. I'm absolutely certain of that. Her cold and sinister demeanor is very peculiar. As for her pretending to be a good person and giving me some kind of expert's phone number, that's even more unbelievable. Strangely, if the woman under that coffin nail is so vicious, how could she find Aunt Mei as a henchman while being suppressed like this? Why didn't she just have Aunt Mei pull out the coffin nail and release her? There must be some unknown reason behind this. Should I still find this woman's corpse and burn it?

Thinking back to the master who set up the formation, I felt indignant. Why did he leave a loose end to harm others instead of eradicating evil completely? If we had just burned it all down back then, none of this trouble would have happened. Unless this woman wasn't human at all but a monster, burning her wouldn't have solved the problem. If that were the case, Fatty and I would have been too reckless. The best we could do now was go back, figure out what was going on, and then decide what to do next.

Jin Laopian and I stood below to stabilize the large coffin. Sen Ge jumped up to take a look. It was still more than a person's height away from the cave entrance. That's when the steel claw really came in handy. Without much effort, Sen Ge secured the steel claw and then pulled Fatty up. I let Jin Laopian go first. This guy was a bit old, so I had to help him from below to pull him up with the rope.

Fatty waved his flashlight down and shouted for me to hurry up. At that moment, I was standing alone in the tomb chamber below. Suddenly, I had a very strange feeling. I wanted to climb up the rope, but I couldn't lift my legs. Large beads of sweat immediately streamed down my forehead and dripped onto the blue bricks under my feet in the silent tomb chamber.

The large, vermilion coffin stood before me like a wall. Sen Ge's thin iron chain dangled down the side of the coffin. I tried to grab it with all my might, my fingertips were only inches away from the chain, but I couldn't reach it any further. My mind went blank. I thought to myself that this was really the end. It seemed that I had a special connection with this tomb and wouldn't be able to leave so easily. The vengeful ghost had already come for me. It was a pity that I didn't have any descendants to carry on the family line. It was such a waste to be buried in this sacred place.

I tried desperately to calm myself down. I believed that even if no one said anything, Fatty would definitely not abandon me. Suddenly, I felt someone's hair brush against my neck. Then, I felt someone grab my legs, and a cold hand twisted my head backward, pulling my whole body backward. I couldn't move my hands and feet, and my head was twisted backward. Just then, several beams of strong flashlight beams shone down from above, allowing me to see clearly what was behind me.

I think I'll never forget this in my entire life!

Behind me stood a huge black spider with long hairs on its legs. The hairs that brushed against my neck and made me think they were someone else's hair were actually the long, downy hairs on the spider's legs. The silk that the spider spun from its mouth was holding my legs and neck. The spider's ugly eyes stared blankly at me, its lips opening and closing repeatedly, ready to enjoy my feast!